"CURES" FOR THE MENTALLY "ILL"
One of the most harrowing genres of medical research, those sometimes arbitrarily deemed mentally 'unfit' according to social standards of the time, found themselves in the hands of physicians, who did not seek to understand, but to remove the difference with a sometimes brutal approach.
PLEASE NOTE: Images and descriptions displayed in this museum may be disturbing for some viewers.
Discretion advised.
“PACKING” THE MENTALLY ILL
Wet packs were a form of hydrotherapy used in the early 1900s in mental asylums across the United States. Patients who were hyperactive or restless would be confined in their wet packs for several hours to even a few days until they behaved as desired by the physicians.
[Image: National Archives and Records, 1902. Ten individuals laying on bed wrapped completely with towels and/or blankets from neck to feet. A small towel covers the individuals’ eyes and two female staff members monitor the patients.]
MENTAL HEALTH REFORMER ELIZABETH PACKARD
Elizabeth Packard was forcibly committed to an asylum in 1860 by her husband due to their differing religious views. She advocated for divorced white women to claim custody of their children and worked for changes to the way these women were committed to mental health institutions.
[Image: Portrait of Elizabeth Packard, courtesy of University of Toledo library. Elizabeth Packard sitting with one arm in her lap and the other arm resting on a stack of books.]
1ST ANTIPSYCHOTIC
The first antipsychotic to be used was called Thorazine, also known as Chlorpromazine. It was thought that this drug could be used to finally allow mentally ill patients to find themselves living outside of asylums.
[image: Smith Kline & French Laboratories, 1950-60s. Thorazine advertisement promising to "end violent outbursts."]
MESCALINE
There have been numerous instances where mescaline has been tested on individuals without consent. This was especially true for mentally ill patients, who became prisoners of experimentation. Mescaline was used alongside other treatments such as lobotomy and electroshock.
[image: Herb Museum. Merck's Mescaline Sulfate Bottle.]
BLOODLETTING
Bloodletting was common in mental asylums in order to calm mental patients. They would go so far as to drain eighty-percent of a patient's blood. They would starve their patients and give them emetics daily. It would nearly kill them.
[image: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979. Bloodletting instruments in the National Museum of History and Technology.]
CURING THE “MENTALLY ILL” WITH THE LOBOTOMY
While the “mentally ill” population became a pressing issue to alleviate due to the societal norms in the 20th century, prefrontal lobotomy became the newly desired procedure to cure individuals.
[George Washington University Gelman Library,1960. Physician performing prefrontal lobotomy on patient with the tool inserted under the patients eye lid to access his frontal lobe]
KOKO AND STONYBROOK
In 2022, Koko was created by Rob Morris a proffesor at Stony brook University where social media platforms would re-direct distressed individuals to chatbot interventions without consent, disregarding ethical standards and user autonomy in the pursuit of technological advancement.
[Image: Campus of Stony Brook University, 2023, A sign designating an entrance t Stony Brook University's west campus]
MARY RAFFERTY AND NEUROLOGICAL STIMULATION
Experimentation is the backbone of medical knowledge that we have today. What happens when doctors take it too far and don’t consider ethics when conducting an experiment? This is the story of Mary Rafferty.
[Image: Patra, D. P. et al. (2019) Illustration of Rafferty’s ulceration and exposed tissue.]
TREPANATION
Trepanation, the oldest known form of surgery in human history, is still practiced to this day. However, in the United States where it is banned, what happens to those who choose self-trepanation? If it has benefits, should we still engage in this tried and (perhaps) true form of mind enhancing surgery?
[Image: Feilding, Amanda. (1970). Series of photographs depicting Feilding's self-trepanation. Cropped to focus on the initial drilling.)
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KETAMINE
Despite its promising effects, careful consideration of potential risks of ketamine theraphy is crucial. Patients should engage in thorough discussions with healthcare providers to make informed decisions about this evolving treatment option.
Image: Providence Care, Gary Crawford, a patient, undergoing ketamine therapy at a clinic, with Jan Crawford by his side, offering support and assistance throughout treatment.
ALEXANDER NEUMEISTER - POST TRAUMATIC STRESS STUDIES
Alexander Neumeister was once a well respected psychiatric researcher who held many successful neurological studies. However, after the FDA shut down his 2016 PTSD study, his lack of following protocol was revealed.
[Image: Alexander Neumesiter. Yale School Of Medicine. 2006. Image depicts a portrait of Neumeister used while he was a faculty member at Yale University.]
BREUNING’S LEGACY: NEUROLEPTIC DEVELOPMENT & IMPACT
Stephen E. Breuning’s promotion of widespread neuroleptic medication use in the United States appeared to be positive at first, but it had serious unintended consequences, including long-term side effects such as tardive dyskinesia, an over-reliance on pharmaceuticals at the expense of other therapies, and a poorly managed deinstitutionalization process that left many mentally ill people without adequate housing, jobs, or healthcare.
[Image: Neuromaging, Pharmacopoeia, (2022), Shows the difference between affected brains]
AUTISM "TREATMENT"
In the search for a 'cure' to autism, many people result to harmful treatment options, including home remedies and therapies determined false, autistic children under the hand of their parents are at the mercy of their treatment.
[Image: Chayka, Doug. NBC News. Image depicts the silhouette of a child, mouth open, ingesting bleach from the shape of a computer pointer.]